20030408: 20030404: McIDAS error message on startup

>From: "Anderson, Alan C. " <address@hidden>
>Organization: St. Cloud State
>Keywords: 200303252255.h2PMtRB2003110 McIDAS REDIRECT SYSKEY.TAB

Hi Alan,

>Have spent some time checking the items you mentioned in your 
>message below, and found the following: 
>
>The dmap.k SYSKEY.TAB  correctly points to the file
>in /var/data/mcidas,  but shows  0  length.

OK, then this is the problem.

>The last 
>date of change shows  1 April,  a day when I do not think
>I worked on that terminal.

McIDAS will create a zero length file when it tries to open
one that does not exist.  This tells me that the file pointed
to by the REDIRECTion either did not exist when the user
tried to start a session, or it had been deleted.

>The terminal is not used by anyone else,  telnet and
>ftp were turned off.

OK.

>When I log in as mcidas on this machine (cyclone), micas 
>initially starts, but when I try and create a product,  it
>fails with the same error message regarding syskey.

A valid (non-empty) SYSKEY.TAB file should be copied from the
distribution to the directory pointed to by your REDIRECTion.  The copy
of SYSKEY.TAB delivered with the distribution can be found in
/home/mcidas/data.  As 'mcidas' copy it over to the REDIRECT directory
and make sure that its read write permissions are 664 (owner and group
read/write, and world read).

>A few questions;  Looking at the install and configuration
>directions,  I am wondering when  SYSKEY.TAB gets created.
>I see that I list in LOCAL.NAM  where it is to be placed and 
>the REDIRECT command points to where to find it,  but when
>is it created ?  

There is a step in the installation that has you copy SYSKEY.TAB
and ROUTE.SYS to the directory in which ldm-mcidas and McIDAS-XCD
decoders create their output.  Since SYSKEY.TAB did not exist
in the directory named in the REDIRECTion in the LOCAL.NAM file,
it is possible that ROUTE.SYS did/does not either.  If this is the
case, also copy ROUTE.SYS to that directory.  The copy of ROUTE.SYS
in the distribution can be found in /home/mcidas/workdata.  The
copy needs to also have 664 permissions (copy it as 'mcidas'
also).

>This machine,  cyclone,  is set up to find all its data on 
>waldo,  so waldo.stcloudstate.edu is listed as the ADDE 
>data site.

Nonetheless, ROUTE.SYS and SYSKEY.TAB need to be "findable".

>When I go over to waldo, I find SYSKEY.TAB where it is expected,
>in /var/data/mcidas,  and it has today's date,  size 24k.

Right.

>I have turned on telnet again, and talked to our campus person
>who said he would open his gate as well.  You might also try 
>the ssh again, just to see if it works if you need to snoop.
>Otherwise,  perhaps you can explain what the problem is and 
>I can try to fix from here.

OK.  I am in DC right now, so when I can get to this is in
question.

Talk to you later...

>Thanks Tom

No worries.

Tom